Rafale fighter jet deal: SC seeks details of decision-making process

The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Centre to provide details of the decision making process in the Rafale deal with France in a sealed cover by October 29 but clarified that it does not want information on pricing and technical particulars. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it was not issuing a formal notice to the Centre as it has not considered the averments with regard to the allegations of corruption made in two PILs filed by two separate lawyers.

At the outset, the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, asked the Centre what if it sought details of the decision making process without the technical details and the prices of the Rafale fighter jets. Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said details on the deal cannot be shown to anybody in the interest of national security and other issues involved in the defence procurement process.The court sought information from the Centre on the decision-making process in the deal in a sealed cover by October 29 and fixed the next hearing on the PILs to October 31.